Snow Patrol is back with its first new song in five years. And it turns out that the track, “Don’t Give In,” is actually a very personal one for lead singer Gary Lightbody.
The lead single off the band's upcoming album is directly influenced by the darkest chapters in Lightbody's life. The Snow Patrol frontman says his depression got so bad a few years ago that "he used to think about not existing.” As Lightbody explained to The Telegraph, "Don't Give In" is tied to his own battle with depression and the impact it had on his career.
Lightbody says he had battled depression since he was a teen, but it wasn’t until he was diagnosed with an infection in 2016 that he reached a breaking point. The health issues forced the singer to get sober, and that led to a "wave of self-hatred," he says. The extended battle with depression is what then led to an extended period of writer's block.
“Don't give in / Don't you dare quit so easy / Give all that you got on the soul / Don't say that you want it forever / I know, I know,”
The frontman says that at first the track was about someone else, but he eventually realized it was actually about himself. “It was about me and the struggle of making the album, coupled with the struggle with depression I've had since I was a kid,” he shares. "The song that became a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Snow Patrol is gearing up to release their seventh studio album, Wildness, on May 25.
Let's end the stigma of talking about mental health.
This September, Entercom radio stations across the country will air the “I’m Listening” program to end the stigma of talking about mental health. You can listen to the entire two-hour broadcast (which featured artists from Halsey to Jack Antonoff to Khalid and more) from last year by clicking here.
Additionally, ImListening.org has links to additional resources and support for those in need.